Help cleaning Kodachrome slides from the 1950's

[HartmanPrints]

Hey all,

So I got a whole bunch of slides from my Father In Law, from the 50s and 60s, and he wants me to scan them.

But they all have dust, which i can deal with, but almost all of them have fingerprints. I have no idea how to get rid of them. Would this be something I'd have to do post-scan in Photoshop? Is there any way to clean them before scanning? I already messed one up, so I'm wary of trying anything else without asking.

Thanks, and sorry if this is the wrong section of the forum.
Cheers!
-Justin

[saiguy]

Justin.  Not sure about fingerprints specifically, but I have not had any luck with film cleaners.

Silverfast iSRD tool might remove fingerprints.

[Simon J.A. Simpson]

Photographic Solutions is a good place to go.  PEC-12 would seem to answer your needs.

Photographic Solutions – PEC-12

[langier]

Pec 12 is the first thing that comes to mind. However, Kodachrome is just a bitch to scan, IMHO. I love looking at a well-crafted Kodachrome transparency and have many in my files, they always were the worse to scan because of the topography of the three-layer emulsion on the image which is physically different than conventional chromogenic transparency films and negatives.

Fingerprints may be an issue no matter how you prepare the image. Wet mounting may be one way to handle the scan but it's messy, time consuming and some think the oil may later affect the original film... then there's the cleanup after the fact... The oils from one's fingers tend to eat away on the emulsion of both film and prints and may have to be cloned out in post.

As an alternative to scanning, you may want to use your digital camera, a macro lens (or doublet close-up lens or tubes) and shoot the Kodachrome on a light table. With a higher res digital camera and good craft, the images can be nearly as high of quality as a scan, but faster, easier and with less dust, scratches, finger prints partially due to the diffused light from your light table.

As always your results may vary...

[saiguy]

SilverFast SF8 Ai has a special function for Kodachrome. It works very well. I have scanned over 10,000 KD slides with it. If you have a lot of slides I would get the HDR Studio version. You can batch scan in HDR mode, then open them 1 by 1 in the HDR software. The iSRD dust and scratch removal tool works on Kodachrome but you have to look carefully at what the auto results do. Some of the dark areas such as fence posts & tree branches will block the IR light and therefore be perceived as debris. So I will back off on the strength until those parts are not removed.

I have used Pec 12 and other film cleaners, even had some of my dads Kodack film cleaner which was banned due to its toxicity. It may have been too old to be effective. If there was a spot of food or similar the cleaners only spread it around. I gave up on cleaners completely.

I blast the slide with compressed air from an air compressor at 70 psi holding firmly the mount from about 6 inches away. Then I use artist paint brush 3/4 inch Sun Burst brussels near a table lamp so I can see what is happening. Then insert the slide in the film carrier for my scanner.

I take every image through PS to look for additional clean up. Then I apply Neat Image & Focus Magic. My preference in HDR are to set a white point of about 242. Then I finish the processing in LR where I can increase the white point closer to 255 as LR does this more intelligently.

[antoine_k]

+1 for PEC-12.
+1 for wet mounting.

I've used "odour-free" mineral spirits for wet mounting.  An art shop should have it under the brand name "Gamsol".  It evaporates quickly with a rocket blower so cleanup is easy.

[tonyespofoito]

My experience with PEC 12 goes back to the 1990s. I originally purchased it to remove a Sharpie mark I inadvertently got on a VPS negative. I tried everything I could think of, but they don't call them indelible markers for nothing. PEC 12 did the trick. Thereafter, I always kept a container around. Fingerprints were a piece of cake. Almost all my experience is with color negatives and I have no idea if it is an archival material, but I've never seen the slightest emulsion damage from it. Unfortunately, it does not work on digital files.